Why I don't do Christmas

[LittleLambofJesus]

I found two words spelled differently in the greek for book here similiar

Rev 5:7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand
biblion

Rev 3:5 I will not blot out his name out of the book of life
biblos

I think it could also mean "scroll"

Blue Letter Bible - Lexicon

Reve 13: 8 and shall be worshipping to him, all the ones dwelling upon the land, of whom not has been written the name in the Scroll/Book/biblw <976> of the Life of the Lambkin,
of the one having been slaughtered/slain from down-casting of world.
[Daniel 12:1]

Young) Daniel 12:1 `And at that time stand up doth Michael, the great head, who is standing up for the sons of thy people, and there hath been a time of distress, such as hath not been since there hath been a nation till that time, and at that time do thy people escape, every one who is found written in the scroll/book.

 

[BreadAlone]

Actually, the word "bible" comes from the greek word "biblios" which means "book".

So I cut out the middle man. Most scholars still agree that the city of "Byblos" influenced or was influenced by the Greek word "biblios," and subsequently is significant with regard to the the etymology of "Bible."

But my point was not to get into a technical etymological discussion.

 

[Fireinfolding]

I remember one midnight mass at my RC church.
Everyone was wearing way too much of their new colognes & perfumes, excessive eating & it being so late, I was fighting off passing out when I saw the altar boys & priest headed my way with the psalter billowing thick incense smoke. I remember swooning & the room starting to spin... I think I managed to remain conscious.

You are not the first I have heard say that.

Some folks dont like that incense stuff, but yeah I get a headache around too much purfume too. Folks should switch to a purfume lotion and ditch the sprays, lotions are light and not overbearing.

Same with some deodorants, I found an awesome one, its called Thai deodorant stone, one stone will last you two years, no scent whatsoever, its the best deodorant, male or female can use it.

I bought three (not knowing) so I really have six years worth of deodorant

 

[Fireinfolding]

I think it could also mean "scroll"

Blue Letter Bible - Lexicon

Reve 13: 8 and shall be worshipping to him, all the ones dwelling upon the land, of whom not has been written the name in the Scroll/Book/biblw <976> of the Life of the Lambkin,
of the one having been slaughtered/slain from down-casting of world.
[Daniel 12:1]

Young) Daniel 12:1 `And at that time stand up doth Michael, the great head, who is standing up for the sons of thy people, and there hath been a time of distress, such as hath not been since there hath been a nation till that time, and at that time do thy people escape, every one who is found written in the scroll/book.

Yeah the numbers on both books was 975 and 976

Strongs has the defs, one was the same as bill of divorcement too

 

[Fireinfolding]

I think you just found the answer for the stock snark,"the word bible isn't in the bible, so...~"

Whats a snark? lol

 

[Melethiel]

I found two words spelled differently in the greek for book here similiar

Rev 5:7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand
biblion

Rev 3:5 I will not blot out his name out of the book of life
biblos

they're the same word, just in a different case. Case denotes grammatical function.

 

[Uphill Battle]

Whats a snark? lol

The SNARK missile
\

 

[Fireinfolding]

Yall are so handy round here

 

[Godchaser_70]

God made a law . . . .

Genesis 2:16 17 -- of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat - But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it.

And what was the real power that was promised to Eve by Satan when she committed sin?

Genesis 3:1
And (Satan) said to (Eve) . . .

Genesis 3:5
"For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Paul warns of the danger of such tree worship . . .

2 Cor 11:3
But I (Paul) am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity {of devotion} to Christ.

And what is the simplicity and devotion of Christ? The Gospel, which is the resurrection. Coming to life after dying.

Luke 9:23 -
And (Jesus) was saying to {them} all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

The battle between God and Satan is Death to Self vs. Fulfilling Self. The christmas tree, in my opinion, metaphorically represents the tree in the garden because it promises the lie of fulfilling self.

I believe the Christmas tree metaphorically represents the tree in the garden.

When one bows down to accept a gift from the tree, they are doing three things: they want that present with their name on it (lust of the eye). After opening the gift and seeing what they received they fulfill the desires of the flesh and feel prideful.

1 John 2:15-17

15
Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16
For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and pride life, is not from the Father but is from the world.
17
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

James 1:14
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.

What is lust . . .

Lust - Greek: epithumia &#8211; It is a composite of epi; which means to super impose and thumia; which means to heat up. It can be described as when one breaths heavy, their body temperature rises, because they are overwhelmed with desire. This desire is not restricted to sex alone.

What is pride . . .

Peter and James say,

James 4:6 (1 Pet 5:5) God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.

The word resisteth is the Greek word: "antitassomai" - meaning to set oneself to wage war against.

The word proud in this text is the Greek word huperephanos - appearing above, conspicuous, haughty. This word comes from:

* huper - above
* phaino - lighten, shine, appear

God will make war with those who love to shine above others. America is saturated with this desire to shine and appear above others with desiring more and better cars, houses, things, lands, stuff, etc. Even the so called evangelical Christians believe this is an acceptable life style. There is no call for the daily cross (Luke 9:23). You will have a very difficult time finding a church in America that will preach the daily cross on christmas.

i agree and understand your statements,but we do as remembering christ jesus,weather he was born in the summer or not. cause i dont think he was born on christmas at all bible speaks different

 

[Rdr Iakovos]

Oh, I thought that pointing out others flaws was the new topic, cause that's all I'm seeing here.

My bad.........

An admission of attempted tit-for-tat.
/fail

 

[Eph4:26]

The word "bible" comes from the pagan city Byblos. We should throw that away too.

This by far is the #1 most common argument I get regarding defending Christmas and its Pagan roots. It also is the easiest to refute.

One more time, you are making a false equivalency argument. Unlike (insert your favorite pagan invention), the Roman Catholic Church that institutionalized the Mass for Christ didn't bring those pagan inventions into the Church and call them righteous.

. . . just because something had pagan roots centuries ago doesn't impact me in the slightest today.

The Bible is loaded from beginning to end with 'thou shall nots' regarding mixing Truth with a lie. One that comes to mind is Paul's writing to the church in Corinth -- a pagan city.

17 ". . . COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

The context of Paul's writing has as much import to our day and time as it did to those believers in the Church at Corinth. Let secular society have their 'Holiday'. Fellowshiping is not about holding hands with your secular sister and brother-in-law (in my case when I used to do Christmas) at the end of the year around the christmas tree and feasting on mom's turkey.

 

[Eph4:26]

It's become more clear to me.... it's all about your loathing of the RCC.... excellent!

10 years ago, I would say that was an accurate statement. Today . . . 'loathing' would not be an inaccurate description. I've learned attacking the RCC is a non-starter in having a meaningful discussion. Hence, no further comment is needed.

 

[Eph4:26]

you're equating commercialism with paganism now?

If by commercialism you are equating secular, then I most definitely am making the algebraic equation paganism = secularism = commercialism

The two are synonymous.

Secular - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

1 a: of or relating to the worldly or temporal
b: not overtly or specifically religious


Pagan - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

2: one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods

 

[Eph4:26]

2Peter2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Let's look at this verse in proper context:

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Geneva]4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and {if} He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing {them} to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly {lives} thereafter; [/FONT]

Most people do not know what the word covetousness even means.

Paul said that covetousness (wanting more for self) is idolatry (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5)

 

[Eph4:26]

. . .But my point was not to get into a technical etymological discussion.

No, it wasn't. Your point has been refuted.

QED

 

[Uphill Battle]

If by commercialism you are equating secular, then I most definitely am making the algebraic equation paganism = secularism = commercialism

The two are synonymous.

Secular - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

1 a: of or relating to the worldly or temporal
b: not overtly or specifically religious


Pagan - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

2: one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods

pa·gan

&#8194; &#8194;https://secure.reference.com/sso/register_pop.html?source=favorites/&#712;pe&#618;

g&#601;n/ Show Spelled[pey-guh

n] Show IPA
–noun 1. one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.

2. a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim.

3. an irreligious or hedonistic person.





I think you're picking and choosing definition to fit your paradigm.


A Christian who engages in a non religious activity, is not exercising paganism.


non-religious=/=sinful.

for instance, brushing your teeth isn't a religious act.

listening to classical music isn't a religious act.


or is this "paganism?" YouTube - Moonlight Sonata

 

[Eph4:26]

i agree and understand your statements (The christmas tree, in my opinion, metaphorically represents the tree in the garden because it promises the lie of fulfilling self.), but we do as remembering christ jesus.

godchaserkc . . . I understand your position. As stated way back in post #2 . . .

As a Christian, I humbly submit, I am not telling anyone NOT to do Christmas. If there is one thing we can agree with, it is if you DO Christmas, I believe you should continue doing so.

 

[Eph4:26]

. . . A Christian who engages in a non religious activity (for instance, listening to classical music), is not exercising paganism.

The is no Biblical prohibition regarding your statement.

Paul gives the best description of the character of the 'thou shall not' regarding getting involved in pagan/secular activities.

17 ". . . COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

'Do not touch what is unclean' is an idiom that has to do religious service to God. It does not mean avoid classical music. Can you see the difference?

The context of Paul's writing has as much import to our day and time as it did to those believers in the Church at Corinth.

Let secular society have their 'Holiday'. Fellowshiping is not about holding hands with your secular sister and brother-in-law (in my case when I used to do Christmas) at the end of the year around the christmas tree and feasting on mom's turkey.

 

[Chesterton]

As a Christian, I humbly submit, I am not telling anyone NOT to do Christmas. If there is one thing we can agree with, it is if you DO Christmas, I believe you should continue doing so.

As a Christian, I humbly submit, I am telling everyone to celebrate the birth of the Savior. If you don't do Christmas, I believe you should start to do so.

 

[Eph4:26]

. . . (I) celebrate the birth of the Savior.

A tradition with no foundation in Scripture.

I first heard your glib answer when I was eight years old attending a Catholic Catechism Class. I remember asking myself, 'If it is baby Jesus' birthday, why do I get to party (celebrate) at Christmas?' That didn't make sense at eight, but I went along with it because who doesn't like toys, big dinners, and cake for dessert? As an adult, what does make sense to me is what the Bible says about bringing honor to God and what our gifts are.

John 12:26 "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Eph. 2:8 - For By grace you have been saved through faith; and not of yourselves, it the gift of God.

Phil 1:29 - For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

granted -charizomai -(khra-id'-zom-ahee) - to give graciously, to bestow, a gift.

The gift of 'suffer for His sake' is a daily cross (Luke 9:23). How does one suffer for His sake? Ask hard questions about your families traditions. When you do that, they will want to separate from you (Luke 6:22) for calling out their traditions. When you have the strength do that, then you are honoring God.